Easley signs 2007-08 budget

Times-News Online

Tuesday

Jul 31, 2007 at 12:00 PM

Gov. Mike Easley today signed a budget agreement that he said makes North Carolina the nation’s clear leader in education innovation and fulfills the state’s promise to people that they can achieve their dream of going from pre-kindergarten through college debt free.

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley today signed a budget agreement that he said makes North Carolina the nation’s clear leader in education innovation and fulfills the state’s promise to people that they can achieve their dream of going from pre-kindergarten through college debt free.

In addition to a $1 billion increase in education spending, the budget provides new tools for local governments to deal with growth, relieves counties of Medicaid, expands economic opportunity, cuts taxes to help the state’s working families and those adopting children, covers more children with health insurance, increases protection of our environment and keeps our communities secure.

“This budget will mark a dramatic opening of educational opportunity for generations of North Carolinians to come,” said Easley. “We have put reality behind the vision of an affordable, debt-free education from pre-kindergarten to an undergraduate degree at a state university. Out of this budget, North Carolina emerges a leader in education on the national scene. History will note the courage and foresight of those who did not just make easy promises, but did the hard work to keep those promises and stand up for the future of our state.”

Ensuring a Debt-free College Education: Provides $100 million for EARN (Education Access Rewards North Carolina) scholars so all North Carolinians who have family incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level can get two years of college debt free. It is estimated up to 25,000 students will be eligible when fully implemented.

Extending More at Four So More At-Risk Kids and Children of Deployed Military are Ready to Learn: Provides $56 million for 10,000 additional More at Four program slots, increases payments by 10 percent to ensure quality and makes children of deployed military eligible for More at Four.

Increasing Internet Connectivity So Students Anywhere Can Take College Courses: Provides $11.5 million for Learn and Earn Online to public schools, community colleges and the University of North Carolina to improve technology, high speed Internet access and multi-media facilities to bring college courses to students who need them. There are 277 high schools that now have the connectivity necessary. By the fall of 2008, the remaining 129 high schools will be fully connected.

Keeping and Recruiting the Best Teachers for Our Classrooms: Provides 5 percent salary increases for public school teachers, community college instructors and university professors. This keeps North Carolina on track to exceed the national average in teacher pay by 2009. With $70 million for ABC bonuses and $37.5 million to continue class size reduction in the lower grades, these teachers, and their students, will be able to focus more on learning.

Expanding High School Reform: Provides $3.1 million to open nine additional Learn and Earn schools this school year to allow students the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma and a college associates degree after just five years of study. By the fall of 2008, there will be a total of up to 70 Learn and Earn high schools across the state.

Focusing on Literacy in the Middle Grades: Provides $5.7 million for 100 additional middle school literacy coaches along with an associated $2 million in support of the N.C. Teacher Academy to provide training in reading. There are already 100 literacy coaches established last year.

Adding Resources for Low-Wealth and At-Risk Schools: Provides $17.6 million for Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Fund and $5.4 million for Low Wealth Counties Supplement.

Supporting Our Active Military, National Guard and Veterans: Provides $12.8 million for various military support efforts including $1 million to family services and recreation programs on military bases in the state; $420,000 for three National Guard family resource centers; $8 million for the Soldier Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University; $1.25 million for the Military Business Center; $240,000 for military family counselors in public schools in four counties; $378,000 for mental health services for returning veterans and their families; and increasing the pension for those in the National Guard from $80 to $95 per month for those with 20 or more years of service.

Creating Jobs, Supporting Business Innovation and Growing the Economy: Provides $13.35 million for One North Carolina economic development grants; $4.8 million for One North Carolina small business grants; $5 million to establish the N.C. Biofuels Center; $3 million to the N.C. Biotechnology Center to create regional innovation centers; $600,000 to support the N.C. Motorsports Consortium and promote motorsports in the state; and $1 million for grants to small businesses to assist in conservation.

Preserving the Environment and Promoting Conservation: Provides $8 million for farmland preservation; $7.7 million to continue the activities of the State Energy Office; $125,000 to expand hazardous waste facility management enforcement; $650,000 to develop a Web-accessible hazardous chemicals inventory database; $250,000 to support regional HAZMAT response teams; and $120 million in borrowing authority for the Land for Tomorrow program to purchase park lands and conservation areas.

Protecting and Helping Our Most Vulnerable: Provides $48 million for a new earned income tax credit for over 800,000 low-income taxpayers; $8.4 million to remove children from child care subsidy waiting lists; $7 million starting in July 2008 for N.C. Kids Care child health insurance; $3 million in new tax credits to help families that adopt; $7 million in tax credits for the purchase of long-term health care insurance; $216,000 to expand Medicaid health care coverage to foster care children up to age 21; $1 million for the state’s food banks; and $3.3 million for college scholarships for foster care children who have aged out of the system.

Helping Local Government: Provides $86.2 million this fiscal year and $271.2 million in the 2008-09 year to relieve county governments of their share of Medicaid. The state will eventually take over the entire cost of the program.

Safeguarding Our Health: Provides $25 million to expand cancer research; $7.5 million to support increased enrollment in the N.C. Health Choice child health insurance program; $1 million for private drinking well safety; $250,000 for NCRx, the senior prescription drug assistance program; and $2.7 million to add 54 additional school nurses.

Increasing Community Security: Provides $11.4 million to assure justice is administered without delay by adding two superior court judges, 11 district court judges and additional court staff and prosecutors; $9.8 million to continue to upgrade and improve court technology; and $4.8 million for grants to address problems associated with gangs.

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